Lehigh Valley groups rally for reforms in wake of Zimmerman verdict

'Stand-your-ground' laws threaten minorities, a crowd of about 100 is told at Bethlehem rally.

July 17, 2013|By Frank Warner and Nicole Radzievich", Of The Morning Call

Lehigh Valley civil rights groups rallied in Bethlehem on Wednesday evening to urge legal reforms in response to a Florida jury's finding George Zimmerman not guilty of murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin.

Esther Lee, president of the Bethlehem chapter of the NAACP, said Zimmerman's acquittal shows the states must repeal "stand-your-ground" laws, which she said endanger minorities more than others.

She said Florida's law has to be targeted first, and she urged the more than 100 demonstrators outside Bethlehem City Hall to boycott Florida — and Florida orange juice in particular — until the law is changed.

Lee pointed to a "Boycott Florida" sign carried by one of the protesters.

"We don't want any more of their oranges," she said. "I know a lot of people like oranges. Good, get oranges, but pay attention to where they come from."

The Bethlehem rally almost didn't begin at 6 p.m. as scheduled. Minutes before the protest, police informed Lee they were investigating a suspicious bag just south of City Hall.

As police and firefighters surrounded the City Hall complex, the rally went on. The bag later was found to contain harmless personal items.

Lee told demonstrators that she was disappointed in the prosecutors who failed to make the case for a murder or manslaughter conviction against Zimmerman, who shot Martin on Feb. 26, 2012.

"It appeared the prosecution wasn't delivering anything in regard to Trayvon," she said. "I felt like telling them, hey, boys, do you know the law? They were very soft."

Several other speakers also attacked "stand-your-ground" laws, which generally free a threatened person from the requirement to retreat before using deadly force.

Judy Alexander, co-president of the Bethlehem Elks Club, said the Florida law allowed Zimmerman to mix racial profiling with deadly violence.

In the Zimmerman trial, both the prosecution and the defense said the case did not involve Florida's stand-your-ground law, but at least one juror later said the jury considered stand-your-ground principles in its deliberations.

Jamid Knight, 16-year-old president of the NAACP Youth Council at Liberty High School, said the Zimmerman case is a "call to action" for young African-Americans to study hard and become good examples.

Too many Americans are divided by their skin color, he said. If all focused on excellence and achievement, he said, some of those divisions could disappear.

Daniel Bosket, president of the Allentown NAACP, said the uproar over Zimmerman's acquittal reflects an impatience for a nation at peace with itself.

"We're here not simply to protest the verdict of not guilty," Bosket said. "We're here because justice was not served, a life was taken. I have five grandchildren who I hope someday can walk to the store in any neighborhood."

Rose Gladden of Allentown went to the rally with a sign that read, "We March for Justice, Not for Hate." She said Zimmerman could have prevented Martin's death simply by sitting still.

"If he would have stayed in his car, we wouldn't be in this place now," she said.

Cathy Bacourt of Allentown said she joined the protest because she didn't accept Zimmerman's account of the shooting.

"How could he say it was self-defense when he [Martin] didn't have a weapon?" she asked.

Dwight Joseph of Allentown held a sign that said, "17 and unarmed," referring to Martin.

"I have a child myself," Joseph said. "It's not a black-white issue. It was that he was not armed at all."

"They said the sidewalk was the weapon," added Jan Tise of Allentown. "Unbelieveable."

Zimmerman, a volunteer for a neighborhood watch in Florida, had argued he shot Martin in self-defense when the unarmed teenager attacked him.

Zimmerman had visible injuries and an audio of a 911 call recorded someone yelling for help during the scuffle. One juror said this week that they wanted to convict Zimmerman of something, but there was nothing they could legally do.

The acquittal on second-degree murder charges over the weekend sparked protests across the country from the "Justice for Trayvon" march across the Las Vegas Strip to spontaneous rallies in Philadelphia. Recognizing the passions inflamed by Saturday's verdict, President Barack Obama reminded Americans that "we are a nation of laws" and called for reflection on how to prevent future tragedies.

On Sunday evening, backers of Martin gathered in downtown Allentown for a candlelight vigil.

In the days since the verdict, Stevie Wonder has refused to perform in Florida until its stand-your-ground law is repealed. And Jennifer Hudson, whose mother, brother and nephew were murdered in 2008, on Wednesday was trending on the Web for what was interpreted as a more subtle protest. She wore a T-shirt with the word "Love" formed by the shapes of guns and other weapons.